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This refreshing Smashed Cucumber Salad is the perfect summer snack and side dish! It’s cool, crunchy, and incredibly yummy with Asian-inspired flavors like sesame and soy. I also drizzle a bit of hot chili oil over it for a nice kick!
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Crisp and refreshing, this smashed cucumber salad is a side dish that really stands out. Not only does it hit a variety of taste buds with it’s sweet, salty, and umami flavors, but it has a great texture, too. Smashed cucumber soaks up whatever sauce or dressing you toss it in to create a more flavorful bite without losing any of it’s crunch.
Looking for more tasty side salads? This healthy crab meat salad is incredibly refreshing with its punch of lime. You’ll also love this crunchy Greek cucumber tomato salad or this loaded Greek salad, if a leafy salad is more your speed.
Why You’ll Love This Salad
- It’s different—This cucumber salad isn’t like the average sliced cucumber salad and you’ll love the way the smashed bits soak up extra flavor!
- It’s quick & easy—Very little prep and effort needed here—and the process is quite fun!
- It makes for great leftovers—Honestly, this is one of those salads that gets better as it sits. So making it in advance is great.
Ingredients for Smashed Cucumber Salad
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Cucumbers—Large cucumbers work best for this recipe.
- Hot chili oil—You want chili oil for this, not a chili sauce like Sriracha or Sambal Oelek. I typically use this hot chili oil.
- Sugar—Don’t skip the sugar. It’s not a lot, but it balances out the salty and spicy flavors in this dish and brightens the overall flavor profile.
Recipe Variations & Modifications
- Chili oil—The popular chili crunch chili oil is a great substitute for the regular chili oil used in this recipe. You could also omit it if you don’t like things spicy.
- Sesame oil—This recipe calls for toasted sesame oil, which brings on a deeper flavor. But you can use regular sesame oil instead.
How to Make Smashed Cucumber Salad
Step 1. Wash the cucumbers and cut off the end pieces. Set the cucumbers in front of you horizontally and cut them into three equal parts (or close to equal, they don’t have to be perfect).
Step 2. Place three parts of the cucumbers into a large storage bag. Seal the bag, releasing any extra air, and smack the cucumbers firmly with a rolling pin or a meat mallet. The cucumbers will flatten and split into 3-4 spears. Repeat this with all cucumbers.
Step 3. Discard any of the seeds or mushy bits from the middle of the cucumber. With your hands, break the cucumber spears into bite-sized chunks, then place them into a colander. Season them with salt and then, using your hands, toss to coat. Let them stand for 15 minutes.
Step 4. In the meantime, whisk the vinegar and grated garlic together in a small mixing bowl. Let it stand for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar in with the vinegar and garlic, then whisk until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Step 5. Pop the cucumbers into a large serving bowl; pour the dressing on top. Toss the cucumbers enough to coat them in the dressing and then drizzle 1-2 TBSP of the hot chili oil over them. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
Recipe Tip
The method of tossing the cucumbers with salt and letting them stand for 15-30 minutes draws out excess moisture from the cucumbers. With that, your cucumbers can soak up that yummy dressing and the dish won’t become watered down!
How to Serve Smashed Cucumber Salad
This is absolutely one of my favorite sides to serve with any Asian-inspired dish. It goes great with my easy miso salmon, sesame hoisin chicken lettuce cups, and garlic and ginger meatballs! You could also add it to a healthy rice bowl with salmon.
Storage
Smashed cucumber salad will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. This salad is honestly best after it’s been sitting for a few hours, but after a full day, it will start to get a big soggier. This is why salting the cucumbers is so important—it prevents the salad from being watered down and soggy earlier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tossing the cucumbers in salt and letting them sit for at least 15 minutes, or up to 30 minutes, will draw out excess water. This will prevent your salad from turning into a soggy watered down mess.
Smashing the cucumbers leaves them with both a crunchy and soft texture, and the softened areas are what soak up your nice and tasty dressing. So you get what almost seems like a marinated cucumber full of flavor, but you still get that luscious crunch!
More Asian-Inspired Sides You’ll Love…
If you try this Smashed Cucumber Salad With Chili Oil, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Smashed Cucumber Salad With Chili Oil
Ingredients
- 2 large English cucumbers, or 4 medium
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 4 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic, grated to a paste
- 1 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil, regular sesame oil will also work
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 TBSP toasted sesame seeds
- 1-2 TBSP hot chili oil, if you prefer no heat, omit the chili oil
- Sliced scallions, for garnish
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers; cut off the end pieces.
- Set the cucumbers in front of you horizontally. Cut them into three equal parts.
- Place three parts of the cucumbers into a large freezer bag. Seal the bag, releasing any extra air, and smack the cucumbers firmly with a rolling pin or a meat mallet. The cucumbers will flatten and split into 3-4 spears. Repeat this with all cucumbers.
- Discard any of the seeds or mushy bits from the middle of the cucumber.
- With your hands, break the cucumber spears into bite-sized chunks, then place them into a colander. Season them with salt and then, using your hands, toss to coat. Let them stand for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, whisk the vinegar and grated garlic together in a small mixing bowl. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, add soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar in with the vinegar and garlic, then whisk until the sugar has fully dissolved.
- Pop the cucumbers into a large serving bowl; pour the dressing on top.
- Toss the cucumbers enough to coat them in the dressing and then drizzle 1-2 TBSP of the hot chili oil over them. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions.
So easy to make and delicious! Thoroughly enjoyed smashing the cucumbers lol. And the texture it gave was so new and fun!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Marisa! It’s a favorite here :)
This is a great example of making something lively and different from things you probably already have in the kitchen, and it makes a big deal of the humble cucumber! The ‘smashing’ gives a surprisingly comforting texture compared to a typical angular sliced cucumber.
I totally agree! The smashed texture had me confused the first time I was served this type of salad at a dumpling house. But then I was immediately taken to heaven. So tasty. It really absorbs all of the flavors. Thanks so much for the thoughtful review!
Mmmmmm. I would use the chili oil and add cayenne pepper flakes!
This is so good. I love that it’s a bit spicy but still so fresh and healthy.
What to do with remaining 3 cucumbers?
You do the same thing with all of the cucumbers: pop them into the bag and smash as directed. You start with three pieces and repeat until all of the cucumbers are smashed.
I’ve never heard of smashed cucumber salad before, but I have to say this is so awesome!
The hot chili oil really adds such a nice kick to this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
I love the addition of the hot chili oil. Yummmmm!
I’m always looking for new salads to try during summer. I made this one yesterday and it was fantastic!! Easy to make and so flavorful with the hot chili oil!
There is no Sichuan peppercorns. Not even a mention.
Hot chili oil contains sichuan peppercorns.